


in the open pages, you are there

by chymyg (greetingsfrommaars)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Bad Pick-Up Lines, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Scheming, everyone is lame and the author finds it hilarious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 15:02:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17164169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greetingsfrommaars/pseuds/chymyg
Summary: The facts of the case:1. Minseok has an oblivious crush.2. Minseok and Jongdae have a plan!3. Unfortunately for them, Junmyeon has at most one functioning brain cell.





	in the open pages, you are there

**Author's Note:**

> title from "peter pan" by exo

Minseok is ready.

New offerings shelved and ready for browsing? Check. Front display re-organized from Junmyeon’s careless setup? Check. The clock reads 4:01, but it consistently runs two minutes fast, so Jongdae has one minute to get here… and there he is, jogging up to the front entrance.

Minseok checks over the shop one last time to be safe. As planned, the aisles are empty of customers – late afternoon before rush-hour is a lull period for them – and Junmyeon is a couple of shelves away, but still within earshot.

All set.

The moment Jongdae steps through the door, Minseok’s gaze snaps over to him, customer-service smile at the ready.

Jongdae gives him a little curl of a smirk. He strides right past the shelf where Junmyeon is "tidying" (lurking) and up to the cash register where Minseok is already leaning over in anticipation.

”Minseok! My favorite bookstore clerk! Would’ve you got for me today?” Jongdae winks at him.

Minseok rolls his eyes and pulls out his selection from behind the counter. It's already gift-wrapped, but he knows exactly what it is – he spent precious time ensuring his ambiguous courting gift was appropriately racy yet still classy–

“Is that a hardcover?” Jongdae asks.

Minseok blinks at him.

A sly glint passes into Jongdae’s eyes. “… Or are you just happy to see me?”

Minseok barely holds in an offended snort. Before he can respond, Jongdae leans closer over the counter.

“Are you sure about this plan, Minseok?” Jongdae says in a quieter voice. He’s checking in, like a good friend, but he probably looks like he’s whispering sickly sweet nothings. A nice touch. “I… know we walked through it, but if you’ve changed your mind –”

“Stick to the plan, Dae.” Minseok senses Junmyeon approaching in his peripheral and shoves Jongdae back hastily. The plan is just taking off; he can’t let Junmyeon derail it into a confrontation too early. “He’s closing in! Stick to the plan,” Minseok hisses.

Jongdae settles back on his heels and sets his face into the leer Baekhyun likes to call his “sultry 45-year-old stripper” face.

Minseok can already feel regret crawling up from his stomach at that look, but they've already run through the setup phase of the plan, and Junmyeon is within range… At Minseok’s nod, Jongdae forges on.

“So, notice anything different about me today?” He asks.

A quick sweep over Jongdae's outfit reveals nothing unusual to Minseok. He’s wearing the same ratty long coat as always, but no hat, so he has a good chance of catching another cold this winter… New shoes, maybe? Minseok can’t see Jongdae’s feet from here.

“It’s the glasses!” Jongdae bursts out. “I’m wearing glasses today!”

Minseok raises an eyebrow. “Technically, you’re wearing empty frames.”

“Can you guess why?” Jongdae grins at him. Minseok has a bad feeling about this.

“To appeal to a nearsighted nerd like me?”Minseok suggests. If he doesn't throw in at least a little sarcasm, Junmyeon might get suspicious.

“Because if you were a book, you’d be some damn fine print!” Jongdae cackles.

He is enjoying this way too much, Minseok decides. Provoking Junmyeon into jealousy is serious business, you know? At least Junmyeon hasn't completely wrecked this plan yet. He’s still pretending to check over the thriller paperbacks behind Jongdae, but he’s playing right into Minseok’s hands. Minseok will get his unsubtle, stupidly attractive ass yet.

Before Jongdae can offer up another awful pickup line, Minseok scans the gift-wrapped book and shoves it into his friend’s hands. It’s the signal: time for the final phase of the plan. Might as well go for the goal while Junmyeon is behaving himself.

Jongdae clears his throat, maybe trying to look nervous. He digs around in his pockets for his card, and once Minseok has processed the purchase, Jongdae shoots his shot. “So… Are you free on Monday?”

Minseok feigns surprise with wide eyes.

“I know it’s during your holiday and all, but I was, uh, hoping you’d come to a café with me?” Jongdae bounces lightly on his feet. “Plus, I was thinking…”

Jongdae has lost the creepy leer, thank god.

“It’d be a _Crime and Punishment_ if you didn’t go out with me, y’know?”

Minseok laughs in spite of himself. “I’m flattered, Jongdae. I think I’m available for Monday –“

“He’s not,” Junmyeon cuts in, stalking up to the counter.

Excitement bubbles up in Minseok’s throat, and he exchanges a glance with Jongdae. Is this it? Is Junmyeon finally going to ask him out?

“He has plans with me,” Junmyeon declares.

Minseok might actually faint. This is really happening.

“The shop is getting a new shipment for New Year's, and we can't put off shelving it for too long. It's _An Inconvenient Truth_ , you know?”

Minseok loves a well-organized, well-read man – wait, what?

“So I'm afraid Minseok can't meet up with you… Jongdae.” Junmyeon narrows his eyes at his fake rival. “I'm sure you wouldn't want to intrude on something so important and time-sensitive as –” Junmyeon flounders, glancing at Minseok, taking in his blank facial expression – “as… shelving.”

”Y-yeah.” Jongdae eyes Junmyeon with confusion and barely concealed pity.

Minseok can’t speak. Minseok can’t _even_.

Junmyeon seems to realize how flimsy his act was, glancing at Minseok again and wincing. “A-anyway, enjoy your purchase, and…happy holidays.” He backs away from the counter. Nodding at Minseok, he chokes out, “I'll be, uh – somewhere else? If you need me or something.”

With that, the love of Minseok’s life power-walks away into a corner of shame.

Minseok _can’t even_.

Once Junmyeon is out of sight, Jongdae doubles over and muffles his laughter into the counter. He straightens up to fix Minseok with a worse leer than before. “Sooo, Minseok. That totally went to plan, huh?”

“I can’t believe this,” Minseok whispers.

"Well, you better have fun _shelving_ with your boy, Minseok. I’m sacrificing a good book joint for this – there's no way I can show my face here again soon after pulling that stunt.”

Minseok sighs forcefully through his nose. “I really thought it would work this time.”

“It basically did,” Jongdae retorts. “You've got you, him, the two of you alone over the holidays… He even cut in to steal you away like you wanted! You guys can have a special moment in the back room or something. Obviously that _shelving_ is too exclusive for a mere customer like me.”

Junmyeon _really_ had to chicken out and schedule a bookstore business date? Time for Minseok to resign himself to even more afternoons of scheming with Jongdae over coffee in the local café, it looks like.

“Hey, you should corner him and ask him out yourself. Clearly we’re running out of master plans.”

Minseok glares at a shelf in the distance and frowns in thought. What to do, what to do… Well. Desperate times are upon them.

“Minseok?”

He raises his head. “Jongdae. It’s time to roll out Plan M.”

Jongdae looks at him warily. “Plan M?”

“Mistletoe.”

**Author's Note:**

> \- jongdae is minseok's fake date because I vaguely remember minseok saying jongdae was his wife, haha  
> \- to be clear, I don't think Suho is a complete fool. he's just useless in the romance department for the purposes of this fic  
> \- thank you to bustle.com for being the first search result when I googled "book pickup lines"  
> \- I wanted to work in a mention of those lurid romance paperbacks with hunky men on the cover, but it didn't happen. alas  
> \- this is only vaguely Christmas-themed but... merry Christmas and to all a good night


End file.
